Ephraim followed Aurelia out the door and along the streets for a time. "So," he began, "am I with you to prevent me from doing something you might regret, or am I here because you think I'll be the most useful in developing a strategy with what we've got?" He walked a little further in silence before adding, "Or is it both?"

"Both," Aurelia said evenly, "Thea's given us a fairly accurate idea of what she's capable of and I think Kestrel could handle that, but you're a bit of a closed book in that regard. My job here is to keep Kestrel safe, and keeping an eye on you until you've proved trustworthy is part of that. But, yes, I think you'll prove a good strategist for what we're doing."

***

Meanwhile, Kestrel prepared to leave the inn.

"Let's say we're visiting a friend," she suggested, "but we're not quite sure where she lives."

"I will assure you again that I mean her no harm, for what little that's worth." Ephraim said, "The fact of the matter is, if she's more or less who she says she is, then I think things will go along swimmingly, and I have no reason to doubt her word. Furthermore, as she is providing me with a way to look around and find more contacts, learn more, earn a little additional money, and, with any luck, also giving me the opportunity for no shortage of fascinating adventures, I hope you will believe me when I say that I will not only bring no danger to her, but also do what I can to protect her from harm." He sped up until he passed Aurelia before turning around to face her whilst walking backwards, "Though, to be honest, even if I hated her, I'd probably still defend her if only to see what you'd do with that."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about hidden agendas where Kestrel is concerned. She's almost completely guileless, especially where her intentions are concerned. But you'll have to forgive me if I don't trust you after a few hours of acquaintance. I'm not built that way."

Aurelia strode past Ephraim and skipped lightly down the stairs to the docks.

***

"If anyone asks," Kestrel clarified, "It's good to have a story ready. Shall we?"

Aurelia ignored Ephraim, instead simply leading him to the ship. Inside, she dumped out one bucket of rainwater and stuck the bucket back under the leak. Once Ephraim was inside, she pulled the door shut behind him.

"You cold?" she asked, heading over to a small portable heater sitting in one corner.

***

"Try to keep it a little less bouncy," Kestrel advised dryly. The two of them headed towards the west side of town, Kestrel pulling up the map in her head as she went.

"Should be in the next block," she said, frowning slightly with the effort of recall, "Seen anything unusual so far?"

Aurelia nodded and headed back to the table. She spread out the maps and the lists and schedules and stared for a minute. Finally, she said, "Well, it looks like the most dangerous time for Counter will be when he goes out looking for an information broker, which it looks like he won't do until tomorrow. But it depends on which assassin is coming. The one circled on the list likes to attack in the streets, but a couple of the others look like they tend to attack a sleeping target, in which case we could be in trouble as soon as tonight."

"Naturally," Ephraim smirked, "so, what do you think? Should we split and watch him in pairs? I figure unless he's one of their best I could probably take him on my own, and I'm sure you're confident of the same, and Kestrel seems fairly capable, though I don't know about Thea. Either way, with two we could probably take the guy out, and it's the cleanest way to constantly watch him without exhausting ourselves. Also, two are less likely to be seen. The other option would be to alert Counter to our existence and try to set something up with his cooperation, but there are many variables with that approach."

She looked around the area and wrinkled her nose. There was one open square, but other than that, the streets were tight and narrow. The grid pattern of the central city had fallen to the wayside and streets dead-ended or jutted off in a different direction without any discernible pattern. The approach to the front of the tenement was fairly open, but the sides and back were rabbit warrens. Kestrel sighed.

"I suppose it'd be too much to ask for the assassin to come through the front."

***

Aurelia leaned back in her chair.

"Oh, I wouldn't rate myself that highly. And Kestrel's strong, yes, but I'd worry about putting her up against anyone with actual training. I say the two of us go on shift tonight in case our assassin attacks then. If no one shows, we should all follow him through the streets tomorrow, since there are so many more variables. I wouldn't count on a Marid assassin taking more than a few hours more than this Akiralta to find Counter. I trust you can do with one sleepless night?"